The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #24612   Message #1384024
Posted By: thespionage
21-Jan-05 - 03:16 AM
Thread Name: Pete: Weavers vs. Solo.
Subject: RE: Pete: Weavers vs. Solo.
I realize that this thread is over four years old, but I thought I'd give it a reprise. Mark Clark, who is apparently now inactive, said that the only footage he saw of Pete Seeger was from "Wasn't That a Time!" There is, in fact, a fairly sizable amount of Pete footage out there...and it occurred to me the other day how much of it I own.

In addition to the aforementioned documentary of the 1980 Carnegie Hall reunion, in Alice's Restaurant Pete plays two of Woody Guthrie's songs for Woody in the movie, "Pastures of Plenty" and "The Car Car Song," and Arlo joins him with harmonica on the first and sings and plays guitar on the second. Pete Seeger also appears in "Peter, Paul and Mary: Carry It On" as well as "Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." In addition to all of this is the Homespun video "Pete Seeger: How to Play the 5-String Banjo."

As for the Weavers vs. solo question, I'd say that Pete Seeger is/was an excellent folksinger *and* an integral part of the Weavers so it's really too hard to differentiate between the two. If he were in two different folk groups that may be easier. You just wouldn't say that John Lennon was worse or better once the Beatles broke up, would you?

I'm looking forward to future responses.

Russ
Practitioner of Thespionage and Folk Music